WPL 2023: MI thrash RCB, claim second consecutive win
Mumbai Indians beat Royal Challengers Bangalore in the fourth match of the 2023 Women's Premier League (WPL) at the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai. MI successfully chased down 156, with star opener Hayley Matthews (77*) anchoring their innings. She also took three wickets. Meanwhile, Nat Sciver-Brunt (55*) played second fiddle, sharing a century stand with Matthews. Notably, MI thrashed Gujarat Titans in the tournament opener.
A look at the match's summary
RCBW had a fruitful start after electing to bat. Smriti Mandhana and Sophie Devine propelled the Royal Challengers to 35/0 in four overs. However, RCBW lost four wickets (47/4) in the Powerplay. Richa Ghosh joined forces with Kanika Ahuja to reconstruct RCBW's innings, but MIW bowlers had the last laugh. Matthews and Nat made the chase one-sided for MIW (159/1 in 14.2 overs).
A match-winning knock by Matthews
Matthews, who opened for MIW, played a match-winning knock for them. She came out all guns blazing and gave an exhibition of her immaculate stroke-play. Matthews raced to her fifty in the 10th over bowled by Preeti Bose. The former reached the mark off just 26 balls. It was her 16th half-century in T20 cricket. Matthews finished with an unbeaten 77 (38).
Matthews stars with the ball too
MIW skipper Harmanpreet Kaur started the proceedings with West Indies spinner Matthews. The latter ended up as MIW's pick of the bowlers. She took three wickets for 28 runs in four overs. Matthews took the pivotal wickets of Mandhana, Heather Knight, and Ghosh. Indian spinner Ishaque and New Zealand's Amelia Kerr snapped up two wickets each. Vastrakar chipped in with a solitary wicket.
A crucial knock by Megan Schutt
Megan Schutt scored a crucial 20 off 14 balls at the back end of RCBW's innings. She had touched the 20-run mark four times in 94 T20 career innings before the WPL. Her scores in this tournament read 30* and 20.
Ishaque bags the Purple Cap
Saika Ishaque was brilliant with the ball for RCBW, having taken two wickets for 26 runs in four overs. The Indian spinner scalped a scintillating four-wicket haul in her maiden game of the tournament (4/11 against GG at DY Patil Stadium). With six wickets in two games, Ishaque is now the incumbent Purple Cap holder of the ongoing WPL.
